TRAVELLING by bus is just the ticket for residents using the district council's concessionary fares scheme.

A recent survey reveals that 91 per cent of people who filled in a questionnaire said they were satisfied with the service the scheme provides.

John Moody, Bromsgrove District Council's head of community safety and engineering, said: "We have gone to our customers and asked them what they would like from the scheme and we have adapted the scheme to suit their requirements as much as possible.

"There is a limit to what we can provide because of the cost, but the current scheme addresses several of the issues raised by our pass holders and we are very pleased that we have been able to raise satisfaction levels - to an all-time high - by 14 per cent from last year."

There was a good response to the recent survey with the council receiving 4,046 replies from 5,439 questionnaires sent out.

Disabled residents and those aged 60 or over are eligible for a bus pass, which gives them free bus travel within the district and up to £1 off journeys outside the district.

Current legislation requires the council to provide a minimum of half price bus travel within the district, but this would prevent residents in some parts of the district from receiving any real reduction in fares for essential journeys.

"Residents in Wythall tend to travel to Birmingham or Solihull to access local services, and this scheme allows them to do that, but at a significantly reduced rate," said Mr Moody.

"Changes to the legislation for providing the scheme mean that all authorities who issue bus passes will have to provide free local bus travel from April 1 next year and it is good to know that Bromsgrove is leading the way," he added.